"When two groups meet each other and both are makes everything from rockets to antitank mines. "If I APOCALYPSE NOW (OR NEVER)! masked, the password identifies them so we know they are need something, I requisition it," he said. Indigenous Resistance & Survival into the 21st Century .not Israeli agents," Abu Muhammad said. He said scouts The Qassams Brigades' members say they do not LEARN 'ROIfTHI PAST were posted on the edges of Gaza and the outskirts of have any Katyusha rockets, but they claim to have towns to watch for raids by Israeli forces. "If they see extended the reach of their Qassams, putting the Israeli For all of you who've slept onthe issues, here's an update ~!!. something, they send the information back up the line to city of Ashkelon and its roughly 100,000 inhabitants on the real world: the joint operations room, and it broadcasts to all the within range. Most of the weapons including antitank .. PREPAR£~PRESENT groups," Abu Muhammad said. "Special forces cannot mines, are made in Gaza. The handle of the group's enter Gaza easily.." grenade launchers are stamped "AI Yassin," in honor of Globalization & the Assault on Indigenous Resources It is difficult to say how many Palestinians are their late leader. "The present global economic system, & the global corporations & bureaucracies that members ofarmed groups. Israeli intelligence officials say Many of the smaller militias now follow the are its driving force; cannot survive without an ever-increasing supply of natural resources: ToDEFENDTHrFUTURE-· there are probably as many. as 20,000 hard-core members Qassam Brigades' classic cell structure, in which few forests, minerals, oil & natural gas, fish, wildlife, freshwater, and arable land, among others. In -- of the various factions, most of which are in the Gaza people know more than their immediate superior and an economic model based on exponential growth, all of these resources are being rapidly t:Ii!IIf~1 Strip. But including free-lancers who join in when the subordinates. Abu Muhammad, a shortman with wire­ depleted, so much so that it has already led to recent wars over oil, notably. in Iraq, and soon, fighting picks up, intelligence officials say, the militias' rimmed glasses and a short, dark beard, described the over water. The global model also depends on highly developed new modem infrastructure, forces outnumber the 35,000 members ofthe Palestinian organization from his point ofview. often built in pristine areas, where Indigenous cultures still thrive. These include giant Authority security forces. "I'm a field commander and I'm responsible for hydroelectric dams, pipelines, canals, roads, seaports, airports, electricity grids, etc., to efficiently extract resources, move them across Israeli intelligence officials say the leadership of eight groups of five men each," he said. ''No group different terrain to oceans, and then on to industrial processing & markets." Hamas, previously split between Gaza & Syria, knows the others and I don't deal with the fighters, only Paradigm Wars; Indigenous Peoples' Resistance to Economic Globalization, Special Report of International Forum on consolidated in Damascus after the assassinations of the commanders ofthe eight groups.." Globalization, 2005 Hamas' charismatic leaders, Sheik Ahmed Yassin & AbdeI He said he did not know-how many layers were Aziz Rantisi in 2004. Two months ago, General Eiland between him and the senior leadership. But Israeli New World Order said, Hamas military leaders appeared to gain the upper intelligence officials say that: while the organization is hand. broad, it is not very"deep, which is why the army focuses "As we enter the 21 st century, the new world order continues to prevail with a lone superpower and its transnational According to the accounts of ,..---------_s on targeted assassinations of militia leaders. corporations relentlessly seeking greater & greater hegemony & control over the peoples & resources ofour planet. The consequences Israeli intelligence officers and senior They say there are only a few layers between are unparalleled hunger, poverty, & human suffering as the gaping chasm between the few wealthy & the destitute millions widens." Hamas officials, the influence of Hamas field commanders like Abu Muhammad and CovertAction Quarterly, "Global Recolonization," 2000 leaders in Gaza weakened further after they the top commander, Muhammad Deif joined the Palestinian Authority in the wake The Qassam Brigades is well Global Environmental Crisis ofparliamentary elections early this year. fmanced; many members carry new weapons "Earth will face more & bigger hurricanes, floods & tornadoes, caused by a warming climate in the century to come... Natural The Qassam Brigades, which is and ammunition vests. Despite the well­ disasters appear to be becoming more frequent & their effects more severe. believed to have received money from -equipped PalestinianAuthority security forces "Rising global temperatures are likely to raise the incidence of extreme weather events, including storms & heavy rainfall, Saudi Arabia until recently and now from in Gaza, the new Hamas government prefers cyclones & droughts." Iran, grew in the 1990s as a counterweight to use a contingent of Qassam Brigades Global Environmental Outlook, United Nations report, 1999 to the Aksa Martyrs Brigades of the Fatah fighters for protection. Movement, then led by Yasir Arafat (PLO). The militia members use radios Capt. Jacob Dallal, an Israeli because they do not trust telephones, speaking System·of Self-Destruction Army spokesman, said that in the past few " in code for less than 30 seconds at a time to "What becomes clear from our research is that the economic model that evolved in the industrial West & which is now years Hezbollah had also helped underwrite keep the Israelis from pinpointing their spreading throughout the entire world is slowly undermining itself As now structured, it will not take us very far into the next some Palestinian groups and had provided location. century. The question, then, is whether we can find another path that can be sustained." technological skills. On a visit to a cell arranged for a State ofthe.World, World Watch Institute, 2000 To become a member of the reporter, Abu Muhammad moves to an Qassam Brigades, Abu Muhammad said, a intersection on the edge of town and the When Civilization Collapses person must first join Hamas. The masked men appear. The group's leader, Abu "Modem civilized people spend most of their lives in artificial cocoons, where indoor temperatures can be regulated, food, movement accepts only people who demonstrate Islamic Ahmed, is a thickset man of 44, a carpenter, the father of water, & clothing are easy to .obtain; and shelter is always available. The underpinnings. oftechnology that support this existence are piety, who pray five times a day, not something that all six boys and a girl. He has been a member ofHamas for fragile, as can be seen when a natural or manmade disaster occurs; the amenities of civilization collapse, & the basics such as food, young people can manage, he said. Hamas investigates the 10 years andjoined the Qassam Brigades four years ago, water & shelter are difficult or impossible to obtain. Even a temporary power outage illustrates the thinness of civilization's veneer. background and relations .of all prospective members Besides the routine patrols he said the group Modem man is at a loss when electric stoves, refrigerators, air conditioners, & automatic garage doors cease to fun~tion." before indoctrinating them into the culture of strict sometimes had "specific operations with mines and RPG's ~then Outdoor Emergency Care; Comprehensive First Aid/orNonurban Settings, National Ski Patrol, 1998 obedience. Only can theyjoin the military wing. against tanks." Iffighters plant a mine, he said, they watch Abu Muhammad, now 37, said he joined Hamas it until it is detonated, or they take it away. He said they "during the first Intifidah in the late 1980s and became a . were among the Qassam Brigades fighters who fought Crisis &. Conflict member of the Qassam Brigades six years ago. "I started back against an Israeli raid into Jabaliya in October 2004. "The global environment is rapidly deteriorating due to industrial pollution & resource depletion. Global warming is already as a common soldier and after three years became a They wear masks to hide their identity from causing extreme weather patterns, including storms, droughts, deadly heat waves, bug infestations, forest fires, melting of polar ice "commander," he said. Like all Qassam members, he gives possible collaborators in theirmidst and from Israeli caps & glaciers, etc., all ofwhich have negative effects on the global economic system. part ofhis.income to the militia. intelligence in battle, fearing that if they are identified, "The convergence of war, economic decline, & ecological crises will lead to greater overall social conflict within the As field commander, he distributes arms & they could be assassinated later. Each squad operates in a imperialist nations in the years to come. It is this growing conflict that will create changes in the present social conditions, which will ammunition to the men under his command. The Qassam well-defined geographic area, usually tied to where its create greater opportunities for organized resistance..." Brigades smuggles in weapons to the territory when it can, members live. • Zig-Zag, Colonization & Decolonization, Summer 2004 • but it has developed a substantial munitions